Organizational OverviewThe IUCRR is governed by a Board of Directors, which includes administrative positions as well as an Accident Analysis/Database Coordinator and a Training Coordinator.

The Law Enforcement Oversight Board (LEOB) has the final say on law enforcement issues, and consists of Law Enforcement Officers that are Certified Cave Divers and trained in the management of a rescue and/or recovery operation.

Various regions around the US as well as in multiple international locations are managed by Regional Coordinators (RCs). RCs maintain contact information for the IUCRR members in their region, and ensure their training is kept up to date.

All IUCRR members are required to be trained as Rescue/Recovery Surface Operations Managers (RRSOM), which ensures they are ready to assist local law enforcement with the unique requirements of an underwater cave rescue/recovery. If requested, the RRSOM can help manage the rescue/recovery operation by coordinating with the on-site officer-in-charge, and are usually able to provide resources and expertise normally unavailable to most law-enforcement agencies.

The fundamental building-block of this organization is the First Responder and Rescue/Recovery Divers. These unpaid volunteers do the grueling work of safely locating the victim, recording critical details, and bringing them to the cave entrance. Local law enforcement is always in charge of the operation -- since in most cases it would be considered a crime scene; the volunteers provide in-water and surface support when requested. No First Responder is required to participate in any given rescue/recovery. The decision to participate, and the level of that participation, are up to the individual.

The IUCRR has a world-wide resource list of trained volunteer First Responders -- Rescue/Recovery Divers. They are available by contacting the appropriate IUCRR Regional Coordinator listed on the Regional Coordinator List page.

Today the IUCRR routinely makes qualified recovery teams available to local law-enforcement agencies trained to work within their Incident Command System to maintain a uniform procedure that is acceptable to each agency.

The IUCRR has no paid members, and operates only through a contribution of time, effort and funds by it's membership, but does accept outside financial contributions.

There are only two levels of membership: a volunteer, and a supporter. 100% of all volunteers are certified cave divers who have been vetted by the Board of Directors or a Regional Coordinator as capable of handling the task of managing a rescue/recovery of one or more divers in an underwater-overhead environment. Supporters voluntarily provide non-diving assets for the use of the IUCRR.

If you are interested in joining the IUCRR as a volunteer, please click here to find out how. If you would like to financially support the IUCRR, please click here to find out how.